Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could get recalled...again

It's not a great year for Samsung

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Samsung is still in the process of replacing all 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 handsets sold across the world, but there's now a suggestion that a second recall could happen - with the supposedly safe version of the phone potentially also being prone to catching fire.

This stems from the fact that a Note 7 handset started smoking in its owner's pocket aboard an aircraft and had to be put out with a fire extinguisher - and the owner claims that it was a replacement handset.

Investigators are currently looking into whether that is indeed the case and the exact reason for the almost-fire, but if it was a replacement handset then another recall could be on the cards.

Should have just released the Note 6

Speaking to Bloomberg, Pamela Gilbert, a former executive director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said: "If it's the fixed phone and it started to smoke in his pocket, I'm going to guess there'll be another recall."

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's not yet been confirmed that this was a fixed phone, and even if it was it could have been an isolated incident – after all, Samsung did seem confident that it had fixed the problem, and it's not as if overheating handsets are a new phenomenon.

But this isn't the only report of a new Note 7 handset overheating, and even the possibility of another recall could shake consumer confidence in the brand. We should know more soon, with an assessment potentially being made as soon as next week.